Rail bond or connector



(No Model.) 2.Sheets-Sheet 1.

0. J. REED. RAIL BOND OR CONNECTOR.

No. 530,651. Patented Dec; 11,1894.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.) v

' O. J. REED.

RAIL BOND 0R CONNECTOR.

' No. 530,651. Patented Dec. 11,1894.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIC f REED ELECTRIC COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

RA|L BOND OR CONNECTOR.

SPECIFICATIONforming part of Letters Patent No. 530,651, dated December11, 1 894.

Application filed September 20, 1894:. Serial No. 523,559. 070 model.)

'successivepairs of rails in railways through the agency of cond uctingbonds or connectors, and its ob ects are, first, to provide a bond orconnector which shallpossess great mechanical strength and at all timesoffer a good conducting path between said rails for electrical currents,and, second, to provide a bond or connector which shall be cheap, simpleof construction and readily put in place and detached from adjoiningpairs of rails.

My invention will be fully understood by referring to the accompanyingdrawings, in which Figure 1 illustrates in side elevational view theends of a pair of adjoining tramway rails connected together by one formof my improved bond or connector.v Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken online 22, Fig. 1, and as seen looking in the direction of the arrows atthat figure from right to left, the bond or connector being shown inelevational view. Fig. 3 is an elevational view of a modified form of myimproved bond or connector, and Fig. 4

rails.

is a similar elevational view of the same form shown in Fig. 3 with theadjoining ends flattened. Fig. 5 is an elevational view of the same formof connectorshown in Figs. 1 and 2 with a modified means of connectingthe adjoining ends of the two parts. Fig. 6 illustrates in elevationalview still another modified form of my invention, one part of which is asimple rod while the other is flattened at its center, the dotted linesillustrating the contour of the parts when in position in the Fig.7 isan enlarged cross sectional view of the right hand portion of Fig. 6taken on the line 7-7. Fig. Bis a diagrammatic view illustrating theapplication of my improved bond with a return current main or conductor.

Numerousdevices have heretofore been invented for bonding or connectingtogether the adjoining rails of a tramway in street and analogousrailways forthe purpose of afiord- 'ing good electrical conductivitythroughout such systemsof rails. To this endit has been customary todrill holes through the ends of the rails and unite them by asingleconductor or bond provided with shoulders and screw threadsatitsoppositeends,the screwthreaded portions being inserted through the holesin the rails and nuts secured thereto bearing against the opposite facesof said rails. It

has also been customary to drill holes in'the T-portio'ns of the railsand to insert the opposite ends of a single bond or connector in saidholes and permanently secure the parts by solder, such \connectorshaving been devised and used in the early stages of electrical railwaysignals.

With the first type of connectors it is found that the nuts are liableto become loosened and also that oxidation takes place at the Referringnow to the drawings in detail in all of which like letters of referencerepresent like parts wherever used, R and R represent the ends-of a pairof adjoining tramway'rails through which are drilled bolt holes. Thesebolt holes are then screw threaded.

B and B represent short metallic rods, such as copper, and upon one endof each of which is secured by solder or otherwise a bushing n or n, theouter and cylindrical ends of which are screw threaded so as to fitsnugly in the screw threads of the drilled holes above referred to. Awrench isthen used and the two bushings n and nare screwed firmly intothe ends of the rails. A two-part sleeve s is then slipped over one ofthe parts I) or b and the two parts bent into the position shown afterCHARLES J. REED, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE whichthe sleeve is slipped back upon the other part into the position shownin Fig. 1 and solder is applied at the ends of the sleeve.

Instead of uniting the bushings 'n and n to the ends of the parts I) andb by solder, it is obvious that these parts might be struck up in theirmanufacture so as to be integral with the parts I) and b.

In the modified form shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the screw threaded portionof the bushing is on the inner side so that in putting the parts inplace they are inserted through the holes and the wrench applied to thebushings, securing them firmly home after which their ends are bent andunited together, eitherwith a sleeve and solder or simply by solderingthem together. For the purpose of facilitating a better union of theparts I) b I sometimes flatten the outer ends as shown at f, Fig. 4.Another manner of uniting these ends is shown in Fig. 5 where one of theparts, namely, 11' is of spiral form S, the other part 5 being insertedtherethrough and then soldered as before.

In the modified form shown in Fig. 6, I simply cutscrew threads If and ton the ends of the rods b and b and then use a pipe wrench for securingthe part b, orI flatten the part as at f f and use a wrench thereon asshown in connection with the part Z). See Figs. 6 and 7.

In Fig. 8 I illustrate the application of my improved bonds orconnectors in connection with an electrical railway system for bondingor connecting the tram rails thereof to a buried earth or returnconductor T, the branch wires b and b constituting the bonds orconnectors which are secured to the rails R and B through the agency ofbushings 'n n as before, the entire system being connected or bondedtogether as shown and the conductors b and b secured to the mainconductor '1 by twisting them about said conductor, and afterwardsoldering the joints or in any preferred manner.

I believe that it is new with me to bond or connect the ends of twoadjoining rails together by a screw threaded connector, thescrew-threaded ends of which are adapted to fit into corresponding screwthreads in holes bored laterally through the ends of said adjoiningrails and my claims are generic in this particular.

I wish it understood that my claims are of the most generic nature as toscrew threaded bonds or connectors consisting of parts adapted to beinserted separately and afterward united into a single bond, as and forthe purpose hereinbefore described.

I am aware that it is old in the electrical art to join tubularelectrical conductors to gether by a conductor or connector, theopposite ends of which are screw-threaded and adapted to fit intocorresponding screw threads in the adjacent ends of tubular conductors,and I make no claims hereinafter broad enough to include such astructure.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. A pair of rails having their ends abutting against each other incombination with a bond or conductor consisting of two separate partssecured by screw-threads in the lateral or bottom faces of the rails,said parts being afterward united together at their opposite ends so asto constitute a single bond or connector, substantially as described.

2. A rail bond or connector adapted to electrically connect a pair ofabutting rails, said bond consisting of two separate partsscrew-threaded into the lateral faces of the rails and afterward bent sothat their opposite ends overlap each other, in combination with meansfor electrically uniting said ends together so as to constitute a singlecontinuous bond.

3.A rail bond or connector consisting of two separate partsscrew-threaded into the ends of the rails and then twisted together, andafterward united by solder.

4. A rail bond or connector consisting of two separate parts adapted tobe screwed into the opposite ends of adjoining rails and afterward bentso as to overlap each other, in combination with means for holding theoverlapping ends together, said holding means and the overlapping endsbeing united together by solder.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name this 14th day ofSeptember, 1894.

CHARLES J. REED.

Witnesses:

JOSHUA R. MORGAN, EDWARD EVERETT.

